Mission Impossible: Fallout

Going in: I purposely avoided reviews. I only saw trailers and the Tom Cruise foot incident. There will probably be good action, good character. I heard reviews were really good. I went with my son Jonathan (he asked not to be referenced for social media).

Popcorn: 8/10. I'd see it again and my son agreed if he went with a friend or two. He has a rule that he doesn't see a movie more than twice in the theaters but I'd probably see it a third time. We both agreed we'd buy it - him as soon as the price came down; me in the discount bin. It was a really good movie and a lot of fun.

Art: 8.5/10. A solid film with some rocky story points. It's not enough to shake too much of the film, but it does cause some eye rolls at the end.

Acting: 3/3. I like all the actors (although to be honest, I'm face blind and Rebecca Ferguson and Michelle Monaghan look the same to me). The true actor here though was Ving Rhames. I saw him do more than most others and he has a pretty good cry face.

Music: 1/2. I wanted to hear more of the theme music but Jonathan (who loves classical music) said it was spice best used in sparing quantities (he also likes to cook). He convinced me. But he and I disagreed on one point. He believes that action movies aren't going to use music to sway emotions; they're going to pump adrenaline. I understand that, but I think it's a missed opportunity.

Filming: 2/2. Beautifully shot. There were three shots that stood out in my mind - only one was a landscape shot. The other two had to do with camera positions.

Art Dept: 2/2. Particularly in the end, there were some little moments that stood out.

Editing: 2/2. I'm going to give full credit here although I think it was more a 1.5 than a full 2. There was one scene that was cut to disorient you a little bit which was the point. It was the only sequence shot that way. Jonathan and I thought it was almost too much but not enough to take you out of the movie. There were two times I did a pace check.

Story: 2/4. I think McQuarrie is a gifted writer but there were two things that made me mad in the story. Now, characters were fine. They all acted accordingly, had some nice growth. But the theme seemed to be a rehash of the previous film. The plot/subplot relationship was done well. Dialogue and characterizations the same. The ending was a happy one but not very deep. This doesn't take too much away. However, they made the mystery obvious and I didn't like that. Also, especially towards the end, there was an over-reliance on luck.

Directing: 3/3. This is a solid movie with a lot of good people in it and gifted craftsmen. Despite some rocky story points, it's pretty well done.

Production: 2/2. Whoever is keeping the films going (ahem, Mr. Cruise) is doing a good job. The stories are ones that consistently need to be seen on screen and bring together great talent.